"It's a human need to be told stories. The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible."
—Alan Rickman |
News
The Playwrights Lab's Short Play Festival:“If Memory Serves…”
The Playwrights Lab's Short Play Festival of 10-minute plays returns! The evening features seven comic and dramatic short plays written by the members of the Playwrights Lab and acted and directed by stellar members of the theatrical community. The unifying theme is: If Memory Serves: What We Remember, What We Forget, and What We'd Like to Forget.
Note: Please register in advance so we can plan accordingly. ...........Click the link below.
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The Plays:
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Featuring Bay Area actors: Arwen Anderson, Sheila Balter, Wilma Bonet, Anne Hallinan, Mick Laugs, Danielle Levin, Jarion Monroe, and Danya Solomon. Directed by David Keith, Dana Kelly, Phoebe Moyer, and Ken Sonkin.
Each year, The Mill Valley Library hosts several staged readings in collaboration with The Playwrights Lab. Residing at the library since 2013. The Lab is a group of professional Bay Area playwrights who meet monthly to share plays with one another and to hone their work through collective input. Lab Playwrights have included Lynne Kaufman, Charles Brousse, Dan Harder, Mercilee Jenkins, John Levine, Naomi Newman, Bernie Weiner, Dyke Garrison, Cary Pepper, Martin Russell, E. H. Benedict, and Hal Gelb.
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Character Workshops on Dario Fo
USF Performing Arts and Social Justice program presents its fall MainStage production of We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay! by Dario Fo (Nov. 7-10). Directed by new full-time theater faculty member, Xiomara Cornejo, this production is sure to be a raucous romp! We Won't Pay! is regarded as Dario Fo's best-known play internationally after The Accidental Death of an Anarchist. It had been performed in over 35 countries. Considered a political farce, it is a comedy about consumer backlash against high prices.
In her first production at USF, Dr. Cornejo enlisted fellow faculty member and theater maker, Ken Sonkin to help with the character development and comedy "lazzi." Sonkin brought in commedia dell'arte expert, author, and circus performer, Jeff Raz to bring his own creativity to the students' process. Raz's workshop included stock characters, fabulous stories of working with Dario Fo and Franca Rame, and teaching character through the use of his wonderful commedia masks! |
Besides also having written 15 plays and directed multiple musical, theatrical, and circus performances, he also founded the Clown Conservatory in the Bay Area as well as the Medical Clown Project. Raz has taught at the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Clown College and the San Francisco School of Circus Arts. He has written four books The Secret Life of Clowns, The Snow Clown, and Love Death Circus. His latest book, ‘An International Circus Affair: How a Nanjing Acrobat in San Francisco Changed American Circus Forever’ is out now. Click here!
Magic at SeaLevel
Step into a world of wonder with an enchanting evening of close-up magic. We’re bringing together three master magicians—each of whom has called the Outer Sunset home for decades—making this event a true celebration of local talent and community.
Prepare to be amazed by Jade, an award-winning magician and the first woman to ever win The Gold Medal of Magic. She’s dazzled audiences around the world and appeared on Penn & Teller: Fool Us. Joining her is Ken Sonkin, voted the #1 street performer in San Francisco, with appearances on The Late Show, Comedy on the Road, and a performance for Queen Elizabeth II of England. Rounding out the lineup is Matthew Holtzman, a parlor magician whose MAGIC * MUSIC * MADNESS show has captivated California audiences with his blend of charm and skill.
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Join us for an unforgettable night of illusions, perfect for anyone who loves the thrill of magic in an up-close and personal setting. Visit: sealevelsf.com
New Partnership at USF:
School of Nursing and Performing Arts Dept.
School of Nursing and Performing Arts Dept.
USF is excited to announce a new collaboration between the Performing Arts Department and the School of Nursing and Health Professions beginning in the Fall of 2024.
A small group of acting students will be chosen to serve as Clinical Actors for the nursing program's Patient Simulation labs. This is a paid job! Performing Arts and Social Justice Theater faculty member, Ken Sonkin will serve as the Standardized Patient Coordinator. |
Simulations are used in a wide variety of disciplines (medicine, police academies, law schools, business, etc.) to help current and future professionals improve their critical thinking and decision-making skills. In nursing programs, a simulated patient (SP), also known as a standardized patient, is an individual trained to act like a real patient and embody a set of symptoms or problems. Patient simulations can be used to teach nursing students a variety of skills including how to conduct physical exams and procedures, how to communicate effectively with patients and their families, and how to work better with their teams. These immersive learning scenarios create genuine human interactions and can be designed to advance clinical assessment skills for physicians, mental health care workers, and family members. |
According to Kellie Bryant, DNP, executive director of simulation at Columbia University School of Nursing, “simulations play a crucial role in allowing nursing students to deal with difficult conversations in the safe environment of the simulation versus having their first time be a real encounter with a real patient.” This semester, the simulations will serve as both "classroom" patient simulations as well as Competency Exams for the USF doctoral student nurses training to be Nurse Practitioners.
Extreme Acts at The Marsh SF
Creating soundscape for theater is one of Ken's passions. Excited to be working on a new piece with old friends, he is designing sound for Lynne Kaufman’s new play, Extreme Acts.
Two risk takers, a performance artist and a BASE jumper, examine their high adrenaline adventures while exploring encounters with the unknown. Written by Lynne Kaufman Directed by Molly Noble Performed by Arwen Anderson* & Johnny Moreno* (*Appearing courtesy of Actors' Equity Association)
May 11 – June 2, 2024
Saturdays at 8pm | Sundays at 5pm |
Words of the Wise: A Staged Reading Festival of Women Playwrights
USF's Performing Arts and Social Justice Department brings you several contemporary plays written by some of the most influential female playwrights of today. This isn’t your traditional staged readings! There will be a little staging, a little design and a lot of fun - all with scripts in hand. We are breaking the rules!
OPEN by Crystal Skillman. Directed by Ken Sonkin
Thurs. April 11 at 8pm* Sat. April 20 at 5pm *Talkback with the playwright immediately following the performance. POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive by Selina Fillinger Directed by Michelle Talgarow WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY by Ruth Tang Directed by Reyna Brown THE FUTURE IS FEMALE by Nandita Shenoy Directed by Rinabeth Apostol All performances at The Studio Theater
on Lone Mountain
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Workshop of New Musical: The Devil's Dating Service
In early Jan. 2024, Ken directed a private staged reading of The Devil’s Dating Service, a "Hellish New Musical about Looking for Love." Written by Maura Vaughn with music/lyrics by Alexander Eccles, it’s a full-length comedy/drama with a great score. This developmental reading featured some of the Bay Area’s finest talent including Andre Amarotico*, Michael Doppe, Michael Patrick Gaffney*, Brian Herndon*, Gwen Herndon, Annmarie Macry, Melinda Meeng, Matthew Morishige, Cathleen Riddley*, Megan Robertson, Jomar Tagatac*, and Colin Thompson*. Stage managed by Julianna King and directed by Ken Sonkin.
(* = Member of Actors’ Equity Association)
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The Devil’s Dating Service follows the fallen angel “Lilith” as she navigates between “Lucifer” and the strangely prescient “Bartender.” As the “Demons of Modern Dating” jockey for their rightful position in Hell, the love triangle comes into full, desperate, and allegorical view. And who gets stuck in the middle? The humans, of course. Jam-packed with songs you'll be whistling for weeks and characters you'll both love and hate… and possibly want to date, The Devil's Dating Service is a poignant and hilarious look at the bumpy road to happily ever after.
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Maura Vaughn (Author) Originally from Boston, Maura has been a professional actor and teacher of acting for over twenty-five years. A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, she trained at Circle in the Square. As a performer, she has been fortunate enough to have graced stages in New York, across the United States, and in Europe. For the past twenty-five years, she has been the Director of Theatre at The Branson School in Ross, CA. She is the author of The Anatomy of a Choice: An Actor's Guide to Text Analysis.
Alexander Eccles (Composer, Lyricist) Based in San Francisco, Alexander is a classical pianist, singer/songwriter, and teacher. He holds degrees from Stanford University in English, with Distinction (Creative Writing focus) and History; he published an award-winning thesis on Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. He has been the singer/songwriter for art-rock bands King Baldwin and Dubious Ranger; as King Baldwin, he arranges and performs piano versions of classic gaming themes on YouTube. He has been commissioned to write/record music for dance performances, private events, and theatrical works. He is currently scoring an educational video game about the American Revolutionary War. |
USF Performing Arts & Social Justice
Celebrating twenty years at the University of San Francisco, Ken teaches in the Performing Arts and Social Justice Program. He has directed main stage productions of Tartuffe, Angels in America: Perestroika, Mary Zimmerman's Metamorphoses, Wild Boy (world premiere), and Open by Crystal Skillman, as well as studio productions of A Christmas Carol, Goldberg Street, Almost, Maine, Reckless, Laundry & Bourbon, Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter, A Streetcar Named Desire, and The Country Wife. He is a recipient of a Jesuit Foundation Grant and has served as faculty advisor to The ASUSF College Players. He also teaches Acting Foundations, Acting II: Scene Study, Character I and II, Personal Clown Technique, and Careers in Theater.
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Zipia Interview: Experts Weigh In
On Current Job Market Trends
On Current Job Market Trends

In December of 2020, the job search website Zipia included Ken on a panel of experts concerning recent college graduates in the Performing Arts. "Given the change of course that has happened in the world, we wanted to provide expert opinions on what aspiring graduates can do to start off their careers in an uncertain economic climate. We wanted to know what skills will be more important, where the economy is doing relatively well, and if there will be any lasting effects on the job market."

We spoke to professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the job market for recent graduates is heading, as well as how young graduates entering the industry can be adequately prepared. Click here for the full interview.
The Oldest Living Cater Waiter
Streaming at 42nd Street Moon In the summer 0f 2019, Ken was elated to share Michael's story again... this time produced by 42nd Street Moon. Winner of the San Francisco Fringe Festival, "Michael Patrick Gaffney is a tour de force in this delightful one-man show. The Oldest Living Cater Waiter is original, well-served and easy to digest. If there were Michelin stars for theater, it would get three."
--SF Examiner Hungry for some great theater? Michael Patrick Gaffney’s original one-man show, The Oldest Living Cater Waiter, offers up delicious insights into his complicated and hilarious careers as both a professional actor and a high-end waiter to the stars. Gaffney cooks up numerous characters from his past with just the right amount of sauciness, Shakespeare, and a soupçon of self-discovery. Come celebrate one man’s journey of a life in the theater.
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Moonbeam Virtual Theatre Streaming Oct. 15-25, 2020! |
For more info, Click here.
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National Alliance of Acting Teachers
Last year, Ken was pleased to be included in the National Alliance of Acting Teachers. Their mission is to cultivate, support and inspire leaders in the field of actor training. "What we do as acting teachers matters—not only to us and to our students, but also, perhaps more importantly, to the integrity and artistic fabric of our society as a whole." Their membership currently spans 30 states and more than 80 actor training programs.
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Comedy Magic
Voted #1 Street Performer in San Francisco, Ken delivers a fast moving combination of physical comedy, magic, dance, and juggling all choreographed to music. "A modern-day Harpo Marx" —Toronto Globe and Mail. He has appeared in concert with Jay Leno, Red Skelton, Ellen DeGeneres, Howie Mandel, Paula Poundstone, Dave Chapelle, Harry Anderson, The Manhattan Transfer, The Drifters, Donnie & Marie Osmond, Waylon Jennings, played The Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, and The MGM Grand in Las Vegas, headlined at The Ice House, The Comedy and Magic Club (Hermosa Beach), The Punchline, The Improv, The LA Playboy Club, Hollywood's Legendary Magic Castle, and performed for Queen Elizabeth II of England!!
Click here to learn more about Ken's Magic! |
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